Garbage truck



April 9, 1957 Filed Aug. 2, 1955 M. O. GIROTTI GARBAGE TRUCK 2Sheets-$heet l INVENTOR.

MEL 0. GIROTT/ BY y ATTORNEY April 9, 1957 M. o. GIROTTI GARBAGE TRUCK 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2, 1955 I INVENTOVR. MEL 0. GIROTT/ A7 TOR/V6Y.

United States Patent ice GARBAGE TRUCK Mel 0. Girotti, Monterey, Calif.

Application August 2, 1955, Serial No. 525,919

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-75) This invention relates to an improved garbagetruck of the type carrying mechanical loading means.

Automotive trucks of the kind now commonly used in collecting garbage orrefuse are not equipped with automatic loading means, and as a resultthe workmen engaged in the collection of garbage are required to expendconsiderable time and effort in lifting the heavy garbage containersover the sides of the truck body to dumping positions permitting thedeposit of the garbage into the truck. Suitable mechanical means whichwould convey garbage from near the ground level to an elevated positionand there automatically discharge the garbage into the interior of thetruck body, has been desired, but until the present inventionsatisfactory apparatus capable of performing such a function has notbecome known.

The present invention provides novel apparatus mounted on the side of atruck body for automatically conveying garbage upwardly from a positionnear the ground level to a position where it is automatically dischargedinto the truck body. With my invention garbage collected manually in theusual manner is deposited into an open bucket stationed in a convenientreceiving position at the side of a truck near the ground level, and bythe controlled operation of a power take-01f connected to the trucksmotor, the bucket is conveyed upwardly to a position where itautomatically dumps its contents into the truck body. My inventioncontemplates the use of suitable semi-automatic controls for effectingthe timely connection and disconnection of the bucket conveyingmechanism with respect to the truck motor.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved garbagetruck of the kind characterized, one which is equipped with mechanicalloading means having an open bucket arranged to travel upwardly from agar bage receiving position near the ground level to a dump ing positionat the top of the truck body, the said bucket being adapted to dischargeits contents automatically into the truck body when its dumping positionis reached.

Other and further objects of my invention will be pointed outhereinafter, or will be indicated in the appended claim or will beobvious to one skilled in the art upon an understanding of the presentdisclosure. For the purpose of this application I have elected to showherein certain forms and details of a garbage truck which isrepresentative of my invention; it is to be understood, however, thatthe embodiment of my invention herein shown and described is forpurposes of illustration only, and that therefore it is not to beregarded as exhaustive of the variations of the invention in the art.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is an end view of apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus, showing the bucket in itsdownward receiving position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus, showing the garbagereceptacle or bucket in a position for receiving garbage or refuse;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, showing thegarbage bucket in a discharging position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of the shock absorber at the lowerends of the tracks.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates an open truck bodyof the well known kind which is mounted on wheels and is used for thecollection of garbage or refuse. The truck body has a bottom, enclosingsides and an open top.

Mounted on a side of the truck body are two parallel, channeled tracksor guides 2, 2 of substantially U-shape in cross-section, which haveupright lower portions and semi-circular upper portions. The open sidesof the parallel tracks 2, 2 are positioned in opposed relation, facingone another. The upper semi-circular portions of the tracks 2, 2 extendinwardly and downwardly and terminate at points above the bottom of thetruck body. Mounted at the upper and lower ends of the tracks areupwardly disposed yieldable shock absorbers 3 (Fig. 5), which areprovided in the usual manner with compression springs 4, the said shockabsorbers being adapted to take up the shock incident to the bucketreaching the ends of its upper and lower movements.

Mounted for upward and downward movement on the tracks 2, 2 is an opengarbage or refuse bucket 5 which is adapted to travel from a position atthe side of the truck near the ground level to a discharging positionabove the bottom of the truck, and return. The bucket 5 carries smallpairs of rollers 6 at each of its ends, which are positioned inside thechannels of the tracks 2, 2. The rollers 6 in combination with thetracks provide means for limiting sidewise movement of the bucket as ittravels upwardly and downwardly, and for facilitating such movementswithout undue friction.

Supported on the side of the truck body midway between and in parallelrelation to the tracks 2, 2 is a framework 7 having opposed spaced sideportions of the same shape. Mounted on the upper and lower ends of theframework 7 between the side portions thereof are sprocket wheels 8 and9 over which an endless conveyor or drive chain 10 extends and withwhich such chain operatively engages. Mounted in semi-circular formationon the upper semi-circular portion of the framework 7 are a plurality ofspaced rollers 11 over which the chain 10 extends. The chain 10 alsoextends over rollers 12 and 13, the latter being under spring tension.The bucket is centrally secured to the chain by suitable means such asvertically spaced connecting members 14. The outer portion or flight ofthe endless chain is substantially parallel to the tracks 2, 2.

The sprocket wheel 9 is keyed to a horizontal shaft 15 which isrotatably mounted on a supporting structure secured to the truck body 1.Secured to the shaft 15 is a pulley 16 which is connected by an endlessbelt 17 to a smaller pulley 18, the latter being keyed to a shaft 19.Another small pulley 20 keyed to the shaft 19 is connected by an endlessbelt 21 to a pulley 22 secured to a shaft 23 which is supported on thechassis 24 of the truck. A tensioning pulley 25 engages with the belt21. The shaft 23 is connected through a suitable clutch mechanism 26 toa power take-off 27 connected to a suitable source of power, such as thetruck motor.

Suitable control means for disconnecting the clutch mechanism 26 whenthe bucket 5 reaches its loading position adjacent the ground level andwhen it has reached a discharging position, is provided. Such controlmeans includes bar or member 28 positioned to intercept the bucket 5 asit reaches its downward loading position, such bar being operativelyconnected by suitable means to the clutch mechanism 26. The controlmeans for disconnecting the clutch mechanism also includes a bar ormember 30 positioned to intercept the bucket as it reaches its upwarddischarging position, such bar 30 being operatively connected bysuitable means to the clutch mechanism 26. A- manually operated controlmember'32 con nected to the clutch mechanism 26 is also connected bysuitable means to the bars 28 and 30, and by turning the handle of thecontrol member to the right and left, the driving chain 10 may beoperated first in one direction and then in a reverse direction, therebycausing the bucket to travel up the tracks 2, 2 to a dischargingposition and then return downwardly to its loading position. Through theconnection of the control member 32 to the bars 28 and 30, such bars maybe positioned to intercept the bucket as it reaches its downward andupward destinations, respectively.

The tracks 2, 2 at their upper end portions being semicircular willcause the bucket 5 gradually to tip or change its position from onewhere its open end is uppermost to one in which its open end is pointeddownwardly. Thus as the bucket reaches the highest point on the tracks,it will begin to tip downwardly, and as the bucket continues to traveldownwardly over the curved inner end portions of the tracks, it assumesa position wherein the bottom thereof is uppermost, and its open end ispointed downwardly. When the bucket has reached a position wherein itsleading rollers 6 have engaged with the shock absorbers 3 at the upperend of the tracks, such bucket will have discharged its contents intothe open truck body beneath.

What I claim is:

In a garbage truck, a truck body having an open top, a

bottom and enclosing sides, a pair of substantially parallel andsimilarly shaped spaced tracks mounted exteriorly on a side of the truckbody, the said tracks having opposed longitudinal channels and alsohaving lower upright portions extending from near the ground level topoints adjacent the top edge of the side of the truck body on which thetracks are mounted and also having inwardly extending curved upperportions overlying the bottom of the truck body, an open top garbagebucket mounted for movement along the tracks and carrying rollersextending into and adapted to move longitudinally in the channels of thetracks, a rigid conveyor supporting frame mounted on the truck bodysubstantially midway between the tracks and having portions conformingin shape to the tracks and positioned in substantially parallel relationthereto, an endless conveyor mounted for movement on the conveyorsupporting frame and having a portion extending in substantiallyparallel relation to the tracks, the said bucket being centrallyconnected to and movable with a conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,385,110 Brown July 19, 1921 1,755,547 Lima Apr. 22, 1930 1,920,243Casper Aug. 1, 1933 2,522,441 Galloway et al. Sept. 12, 1950

